advice please: old burned cabin with tin roof

[Ima digger]

I am detecting around an old log cabin that burned in the 1960s. I know when it burned and it messed up the tin. I had tried it years ago, and could only detect the tin, it was hopeless. I have waited for years for the tin to rot. It has, but it's still giving me fits. Without descrimmination, all you get is the crazy signal of the tin(some tiny pieces some bigger). With descrimmination, I get nothing much. Is the rusty tin blocking all signals?? I know that several families lived there. Will I have to wait so long that my grandchildren will be able to find stuff?? Oh, that's right, I already have grandchildren. Any advice??

 

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[villagenut]

I would try searching areas adjacent to where the ruins of the cabin are. You will have less masking of good targets and more probable to find something that will help date the old structure. If the tin roof is already deteriorated into the ground where the cabin sat, it will be hard to hunt anywhere near it without removing it all. I would first see what may be found near where the clothesline was or the path to the well head etc etc. It may not be worth your time to get under the tin slaw if nothing old is found nearby.

 

[kcm]

If you're trying to detect where there is sheet metal, you're looking for a very difficult task. Even if you pull the metal out (completely), is the metal rusty? Is any rust breaking off into the soil? What about all the nails? ...You'd need to get a strong shop magnet and get all the magnetics up before trying to detect.

 

[Ima digger]

Thanks, villagenut. This is on land my family has owned forever. So I know where the garden was, and have found 1 trash area. The pieces of tin are from fingernail size to a foot square now. I will keep trying, I'm having fun. I like rusty stuff as well as anything else people used. I'll keep hitting it once in while. Thanks again, Ima

 

[Ima digger]

Thanks kcm, Not many nails, since it was mostly log. I hadn't thought about the magnet. Might try a small place, see if it clears it any. Keep digging, Ima

 

[kcm]

Not many nails?!?!? What held it in place - a dream and a prayer??

 

[Ima digger]

It was logs on rock pillars, probably had wood shingles when it was built, then tin was added later I would think. So, not many nails. It was certainly not like our houses today. But ok for the time, and situation at the time.

 

[kcm]

Must not be very windy there. We also have an old log building. Was originally a blacksmith shop, and last it was a chicken house. It has a corrugated metal roof. Not a TON of nails, but more than I'd care to pick up by hand! ...But then, this is a very windy area!!

 

[cudamark]

I think I'd just dig the place and run it through a sifter. If the area is just the size of a typical cabin, that shouldn't take too long, and you'll get everything that way.

 

[Carolina Tom]

Cudamark may be on to something. Sifting would also net non metallic objects.. clay marbles, bone or shell buttons, small glass objects, like beads and who knows what else. You also might be able to get enough tin out of the way, for the detector to work.

 

[GA_Boy]

Post a picture of it and maybe I can suggest something not before mentioned.
Marvin

 

[cudamark]

Add a magnet to your sifter and get rid of most of the tin and nails.

 

[Ima digger]

I am sure the dig and sifting is too much for me. And I kinda want to leave it looking like it always has. Somebody already told me that it looked like the wild hogs had rooted there. The digging and sifting would be great for a bunch of people, to do together. I may try to rake the area close around the house, see if I can get more of the smaller pieces of tin off the top. I'll also keep working the area around there, It's a long term project, I guess, and I can always go back there. Thanks for all the ideas.

 

[Ima digger]

I meant that we had dug around there so much, that someone laughed and said it looked like wild hog sign. I will try sifting what comes out of any holes we dig, after we find the target. good idea. I found a childs shoe last there the other day. So sweet. I can't pass up the iron, so I wind up digging almost everything. Keep up the good work.

 

[cudamark]

I didn't mean to imply that you needed to take 2 feet off the top of the whole area. Just the top few inches is all you need to do. After that, the surface tin should be gone and you can then use the detector for any deep targets. You might try a test area, say 10' squared, and see what you find. With a name like Ima digger, you should be good with that!

 

[Ima digger]

cudamark, I thought I was sooo clever with that name. I should have known it would get me into something. yu'all have such good ideas. I plan to go back with an adjustable leaf rake, magnet, sifter, pruners, and see what I find. This is beginning to sound like a lot of work. I can at least sift whatever we dig up with a target. We have been looking around for the most logical areas like front door, and garden and trash pile. I think I can also find an old shed that was close by. The people who lived there would laugh at all the work we are going to, just to find what they left behind, Ha !

 

[Peyton Manning]

waiting for the tin to rot was not the best move

if you can rake any of it away before it gets smaller

 

[Rawhide]

Cuda has the plan, just start in one corner and work the soil about a foot down. You will have to dig tin signals too. You have some work ahead of you. Use a small coil if you can.

I have a 5 gallon bucket and a garrets screen I use on places like that. I put rocks and tin in a pile. Good luck.

 

[cudamark]

I doubt you would have to go that deep. The top 2-3 inches should have all the nails and tin. Once you get that out of the way, you can finish the rest with the detector, unless you're finding interesting non-metallic items, then I'd go a little deeper. Since you own the land, there is no rush. Do it at your own pace. Grid it one section at a time.

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

Thanks, villagenut. This is on land my family has owned forever. So I know where the garden was, and have found 1 trash area. The pieces of tin are from fingernail size to a foot square now. I will keep trying, I'm having fun. I like rusty stuff as well as anything else people used. I'll keep hitting it once in while. Thanks again, Ima

Don't know your machine, but some do better than others in lots of iron.
The suggestion was to hunt outside the actual structure site, hunt margins of everything, cherry-pick.
Specially hunt that GARDEN!....also under shade trees, even if not much more than a down log and/or stump of it.
Walkways, carriage house, cellars, swimming areas, picnic spots - you get the idea...!